New authorities maps present almost all of the West is in drought and it is not even summer season yet: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officials declared a water scarcity emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to limit all outdoor watering to only once every week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water provides and we've been getting ready for it however we did not know it could happen this fast," stated Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The latest authorities maps present almost all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling extreme or excessive drought.

"This is actual. That is critical. That is unprecedented," mentioned Adel Hagekhalil, general supervisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California just isn't alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the nation fashioned by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a brand new pump to make sure water can stream to Las Vegas. 

"The issue with climate change is that it takes all of the historical patterns and form of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager told CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

Reager said the West is in a 22-year megadrought, as climate change makes it hotter and drier. 

"We're simply beginning to see the dominoes fall. It's drier, we're beginning to see less water in our reservoirs, and we now have fires, and in California, there's simply this series of penalties that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.